China's ODI was down 29.8 percent year on year to 14.91 billion U.S. dollars in November, Gao said, attributing the fluctuation to change in investment structure.

He said China's ODI in the first 11 months had remained flat with 2017.

Domestic investors made 104.48 billion U.S. dollars of non-financial ODI in 5,213 overseas enterprises in 157 countries and regions from January to November, earlier MOC data showed.

The structure of outbound investment continued to improve, with investment mainly going into leasing and business services, manufacturing, mining, and retail and wholesale sectors, according to the ministry.

No new projects were reported in sectors such as property development, sports, and entertainment.